Plant antibacterials: The challenges and opportunities.

Nature possesses an inexhaustible reservoir of agents that could serve as alternatives to combat the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). While some of the most effective drugs for treating bacterial infections originate from natural sources, they have predominantly been derived from fungal and bacterial species. However, a substantial body of literature is available on the promising antibacterial properties of plant-derived compounds.

RESPONSE TO THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK: LESSONS FROM A TERTIARY HEALTHCARE FACILITY IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA.

Background: Mitigating the risk of nosocomial infection is one of the core functions of healthcare managers in hospital environments. This study aimed to describe the COVID-19 outbreak response in a tertiary healthcare facility in Nigeria.

Methods: A qualitative cross-sectional study was conducted among representatives of Heads of Infection Control Committees and units, the Accident and Emergency unit, Family Medicine unit, and Private Suites on the COVID-19 outbreak response at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

SD-Bioline malaria rapid diagnostic test performance and time to become negative after treatment of malaria infection in Southwest Nigerian Children.

Context And Aim: Given the challenges of microscopy, we compared its performance with SD-Bioline malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and evaluated the time it took for positive results to become negative after treatment of children with acute uncomplicated malaria.

Subjects And Methods: We present the report of 485 participants with complete MRDT, microscopy, and PCR data out of 511 febrile children aged 3-59 months who participated in a cohort study over a 12-month period in rural and urban areas of Ibadan, Nigeria. MRDT-positive children received antimalaria and tested at every visit over 28 days.

Establishing a national reference laboratory for antimicrobial resistance using a whole-genome sequencing framework: Nigeria's experience.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) is finding important applications in the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), providing the most granular data and broadening the scope of niches and locations that can be surveilled. A common but often overlooked application of WGS is to replace or augment reference laboratory services for AMR surveillance. WGS has supplanted traditional strain subtyping in many comprehensive reference laboratories and is now the gold standard for rapidly ruling isolates into or out of suspected outbreak clusters.

Non-Malaria Causes of Fever among under-5 Children with Negative Results for Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test in South-Western Nigeria.

Background: Although the global malaria burden is decreasing, there are still concerns about overdiagnosis of malaria and the danger of misdiagnosis of non-malaria causes of fever. Clinicians continue to face the challenge of differentiating between these causes despite the introduction of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (mRDTs).

Aim: To determine the prevalence and causes of non-malaria-caused fever in children in South-Western Nigeria.

Serum cytokine profile of pregnant women with malaria, intestinal helminths and HIV infections in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Malaria, helminthiasis and HIV are widespread in developing countries taking a heavy toll on pregnant women. Due to similar environmental and human factors of transmission, they co-exist. The epidemiology and pathology of these diseases have been extensively studied but data on serum cytokine profile changes which is crucial in pregnancy is limited.

Baseline study for improving diagnostic stewardship at secondary health care facilities in Nigeria.

Background: Blood culture diagnostics are critical tools for sepsis management and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance. A baseline study was conducted to assess reported sepsis case finding, blood culture diagnostics, antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and antimicrobial use at secondary health care facilities to inform the development of diagnostic stewardship improvement strategies in Nigeria.

Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted among 25 public secondary health care facilities in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Lagos State in Nigeria to evaluate the capacity for pathogen identification and AST.

Corrigendum: Therapeutic Potentials of Antiviral Plants Used in Traditional African Medicine With COVID-19 in Focus: A Nigerian Perspective.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.

Therapeutic Potentials of Antiviral Plants Used in Traditional African Medicine With COVID-19 in Focus: A Nigerian Perspective.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by an infectious novel strain of coronavirus known as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which was earlier referred to as 2019-nCoV. The respiratory disease is the most consequential global public health crisis of the 21st century whose level of negative impact increasingly experienced globally has not been recorded since World War II. Up till now, there has been no specific globally authorized antiviral drug, vaccines, supplement or herbal remedy available for the treatment of this lethal disease except preventive measures, supportive care and non-specific treatment options adopted in different countries via divergent approaches to halt the pandemic.

Malaria, Helminth Infections and Clinical Status Among HIV-Infected Pregnant Women.

Background Or Objectives: Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa with similarity in geographical distribution of major pathogens of public health interest. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of malaria and helminths on CD4 count, hematocrit values and viral load among HIV-infected pregnant women.

Methods: One hundred and ninety-seven HIV-infected pregnant women aged 18-45 years were recruited from a registered HIV clinic and questionnaires were administered for socio-demographic details.

Contributions of malaria, helminths, HIV and iron deficiency to anaemia in pregnant women attending ante-natal clinic in SouthWest Nigeria.

Background: Iron deficiency is a dominant source of anaemia in many settings. To evaluate the key cause of anaemia in the study area, the prevalence of anaemia due to major public health diseases was compared with anaemia due to iron deficiency.

Methods: Pregnant women were recruited from ante-natal (n=490) and HIV clinics (n=217) with their personal data documented using a questionnaire.

Targeted polymerase chain reaction-based expression of putative halitogenic bacteria and volatile sulphur compound analysis among halitosis patients at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria.

Halitosis (bad breath) can be a cause of anxiety, depression and psychosocial stress, with pathological changes in the oral microbiota playing an important role in its development. Despite its prevalence, studies on the microbiology of halitosis are rare in Nigeria. This study determines the presence of five putative periodontal pathogens viz: Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Prevotella intermedia and Treponema denticola on the tongue dorsa of halitosis and non-halitosis patients using a 16S rDNA-directed polymerase chain reaction assay.

Consequences of restricting antimalarial drugs to rapid diagnostic test-positive febrile children in south-west Nigeria.

Objectives: To investigate the consequence of restricting antimalarial treatment to febrile children that test positive to a malaria rapid diagnostic test (MRDT) only in an area of intense malaria transmission.

Methods: Febrile children aged 3-59 months were screened with an MRDT at health facilities in south-west Nigeria. MRDT-positive children received artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ), while MRDT-negative children were treated based on the clinical diagnosis of non-malaria febrile illness.

Performance of malaria rapid diagnostic test in febrile under-five children at Oni Memorial Children's Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria, 2016.

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends testing of suspected malaria cases before treatment. Malaria rapid diagnostic test (mRDT) has been recommended for this purpose in endemic countries where microscopy is not accessible. However, its diagnostic performance remains a concern in clinical settings.

Long-lasting insecticidal net use and asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia among household members of laboratory-confirmed malaria patients attending selected health facilities in Abuja, Nigeria, 2016: A cross-sectional survey.

Introduction: In Nigeria, malaria remains a major burden. There is the presupposition that household members could have common exposure to malaria parasite and use of long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) could reduce transmission. This study was conducted to identify factors associated with asymptomatic malaria parasitaemia and LLIN use among households of confirmed malaria patients in Abuja, Nigeria.

Prevalence and Etiology of Bacteremia in Febrile Children with Sickle Cell Disease at a Nigeria Tertiary Hospital.

Background & Objectives: As a result of immune defects in Sickle cell disease (SCD), affected individuals are prone to infection from encapsulated bacterial pathogens like Studies on the etiological agents of bacteremia in children with SCD in Nigeria are few and have revealed a spectrum of organisms that is different from those recorded in other parts of the world.

Aim And Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of bacteremia, etiological agents and antibiotic susceptibility pattern in febrile children with SCD attending the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria.

Methods: The study was cross-sectional and took place at the Department of Pediatrics of the UCH, Ibadan.

Etiology of early onset septicemia among neonates at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Introduction: Neonatal septicemia remains a major cause of newborn deaths in developing countries. Its burden is further compounded by the emergence of multidrug-resistant pathogens, which is related to a lack of antibiotic protocols resulting in unrestricted use of antibiotics. The absence of reliable antibiotic sensitivity testing makes the formulation of antibiotic guidelines and judicious use of antibiotics difficult.

Antibiotic susceptibility pattern and analysis of plasmid profiles of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from human, animal and plant sources.

Multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) constitute a major public health threat globally. Clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa remains one of the most studied MDROs however there is paucity of information regarding the susceptibility of its animal and plants isolates to antipseudomonas drug in Nigeria. From a total of 252 samples consisting of plants, animals and clinical samples, 54, 24 and 22 P.

Cost-Effectiveness and Validity Assessment of Cyscope Microscope, Quantitative Buffy Coat Microscope, and Rapid Diagnostic Kit for Malaria Diagnosis among Clinic Attendees in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Background. Unavailability of accurate, rapid, reliable, and cost-effective malaria diagnostic instruments constitutes major a challenge to malaria elimination. We validated alternative malaria diagnostic instruments and assessed their comparative cost-effectiveness.

PATTERN OF OROFACIAL BACTERIAL INFECTIONS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN SOUTHWEST, NIGERIA.

Background: Orofacial bacterial infections present in diverse patterns due to the anatomical complexity of the area. The likelihood of spread from the initial area of infection is also high because of the presence of contiguous spaces in the head and neck region.

Aim: To determine the pattern and management outcome of orofacial bacterial infections in Southwest Nigeria.

Evaluation of the comparative efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine, artesunate-amodiaquine and artesunate-amodiaquine-chlorpheniramine (Artemoclo™) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated malaria in Nigerian children.

Objective: To evaluate the comparative efficacy and safety of artemether-lumefantrine (AL), artesunate-amodiaquine (ASAQ) and artesunate-amodiaquine-chlorpheniramine (AQC) for the treatment of acute uncomplicated malaria among Southwest Nigerian children.

Subjects And Methods: One hundred and sixty children aged 6 months to 14 years with acute uncomplicated malaria were randomized to AL (n = 53), ASAQ (n = 53), or AQC (n = 54). Enrollees were seen daily on days 0-3 and then on days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 42 for clinical and parasitological evaluations.

Epidemiology of smear - negative tuberculosis in ibadan, Nigeria.

Inadequate case detection has been identified as one of the reasons for high burden of tuberculosis (TB) in the world especially in poor resourced countries of Africa and Asia. This retrospective laboratory study involving the review of specimens processed at the TB laboratory of the Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria was carried out over a period of five years (January 2006-December 2010) to access the epidemiology of smear-negative TB. Of the 3468 specimens processed, 2,175 (62.

Asymptomatic malaria and intestinal helminth co-infection among children in a rural community in Southwest Nigeria.

Background: Malaria is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, where other concomitant parasitic infections, including intestinal helminths, are common. However, little is known about how concurrent infections affect the expression or pathogenesis of each other. This study aimed to document the prevalence rates of malaria and intestinal helminths individually and as co-infection among asymptomatic children in a rural community in southwest Nigeria.

Cryptosporidium hominis subtypes and Enterocytozoon bieneusi genotypes in HIV-infected persons in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Cryptosporidium and Enterocytozoon are common opportunistic pathogens in HIV+ patients in developing countries, especially those do not have access to antiretroviral therapy. To determine the distribution of genotypes/subtypes of Cryptosporidium and Enterocytozoon bieneusi, faecal specimens were collected from 132 HIV+ persons attending a tertiary hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria. By polymerase chain reaction, eight and ten patients were identified as positive for Cryptosporidium spp.

Evaluation of Paracheck-Pf(TM) rapid malaria diagnostic test for the diagnosis of malaria among HIV-positive patients in Ibadan, south-western Nigeria.

Febrile illnesses occur frequently among HIV positive patients and these are often treated presumptively as malaria in endemic areas. Parasite-based diagnosis of malaria will eliminate unnecessary treatment, reduce drug-drug interactions and the chances for the emergence of drug resistant Plasmodium. We evaluated finger prick blood samples from 387 people living with HIV (PLWHIV) and suspected of having malaria by expert microscopy and Paracheck-Pf(TM) - a histidine-rich protein-II based malaria rapid diagnostic test.